The Sands of Power
by LoriStori
Summary: Naruto has been gone for 5 years, wandering the edges of Wind country, waiting for his seal to finish what it was meant to do. Now it's done, and he can go home - however, there's a problem. The biju are disappearing... And only Shukaku seems to know why. On hiatus and up for adoption. See profile for details.
1. Prologue

I don't own Naruto.

This fic was inspired by a pic created by Orin over on DeviantArt. The pic was called Naruto – Weathered, and I put it up for the cover image of this story.

This is going to be a Naruto/Temari pairing, and for the record, the romance will develop quickly, and most likely the build-up will be limited to the first few chapters. This is because I don't really want to do a romance centered fic, but I still want romance to be present in it. I just don't want it to be about _just _the romance. There will be action, there will be adventure, and there will be a little bit of fluff. That's how it's going to work in this fic.

Without further ado,

I present to you:

**Sabaku no Naruto**

Prologue:

_Thoughts_

Hot.

The heat came in waves, beating relentlessly against him.

But he had long since stopped caring about that.

How long had it been since he had seen anything other than sand?

Too long. Far too long.

But he couldn't go back. Not yet. Not before the seal finished its work. Not before he had finished absorbing the Kyuubi's chakra.

But it was almost time.

Of course, Kurama and he had a plan to preserve the fox demon's spirit. He would stay sealed within Naruto, but Naruto would be able to call him out should he so wish to. He was a valuable partner to Naruto, after all, not to mention friend. Yes, he had befriended his demon. There really was no one else to talk to during the past five years other than the fox.

Five years.

He had been living alone in the desert for five long years.

Ever since he managed to destroy Uchiha Madara, after four years of war, he had been living in the sands on the edges of Wind country.

He had left everything behind. Everything. Because he didn't want to repeat _that_ incident.

The incident where he almost killed his teacher.

He had lost control of the Kurama's chakra, and it had destroyed the area around him and nearly destroyed the one person who had seen the potential that he had in him from the start.

His master, Jiraiya.

There were others who had eventually seen the potential that he had in him. Others that had seen that he could be a believable ninja. But it took them a while to even begin to see that he had what it took, and even after they did, they still underestimated what he could accomplish.

Oh ye of little faith.

After his self-exile, he had come to Gaara and asked to be allowed to live on the edges of his country. Not permanently, he had assured his friend, just until his seal had finished its work.

Of course, Gaara said yes.

Since then, he had encountered only a few border patrols, and even then, he rarely made contact with them, preferring to watch them pass him by as they made their way.

It was funny because, even with his massive stores of chakra, no one could find him if he didn't want them to. He always suppressed his chakra completely, no matter the situation, with the one exception being when he was fighting.

Not that he fought anybody but himself anymore.

Although, every once in a while, he would go to Sand village. Initially, it was just to fulfill Gaara's request to see him occasionally. But, eventually, that became an excuse that he used just so he could see _her_ again.

Temari.

The girl he had fallen for before he had even realized what had happened. He had long since gotten over Sakura, years and years ago. Since then, he hadn't really been looking for any kind of relationship with anyone.

Which is most likely why he had fallen for her so badly.

He hadn't been expecting it.

However, other things took priority over his personal feelings, even the ones he felt for the Wind Mistress.

He needed to train.

And so he had trained.

Oh yes, he had trained. Day in, day out, he had trained himself to become stronger than anyone. Than anything.

To protect his precious people. To protect _her_, even though she didn't know how he felt.

Even though he was too scared to tell her.

There were others to protect besides her, of course. Even though they weren't around him anymore, he would still protect them, by becoming the strongest that he could possibly be.

And beyond even that limit, too.

And now, it was almost time to return to his village.

To his people.

In just a little over a week, he could go home.

Although, he wasn't too fond of the idea of leaving _her _behind. . .

But he had to return. And he couldn't take her with him, no matter how much he wanted to.

No matter how much he would give to make that happen.

Enough. If he continued along this line of thought, he would only become depressed.

And he was tired of being depressed. He was cynical enough nowadays even without adding to it because he was upset.

Not to mention the sarcasm.

It's not that he hated the world or anything, he just didn't see it as full of sunshine and rainbows anymore.

Not that he ever truly did, but his mask of happiness prevented others from knowing about that. Hell, it prevented himself from knowing that, because after so many years of using it, he couldn't tell the mask from himself anymore.

Wandering alone in the desert with nothing but sand as far as the eye can see for five years, though, tends to make you find and recognize your true self, such as it is.

He wondered how his friends would react when they saw him.

Would they recognize him?

Somehow, he doubted it.

The only thing that was still around that even remotely connected his current self with his past self were the whisker marks on his cheeks, and those were fading fast.

Well, that and Tsunade's necklace.

He looked nothing like he did before. He had a deep tan and his hair was bleached from the sun so that it was almost white. He no longer wore his jumpsuit, instead he just wore some simple brown pants, a white t-shirt, a long coat with some designs on the shoulders of the long sleeves, and a scarf for the desert winds.

. . .Yeah.

They probably wouldn't recognize him.

Not that he really expected them to, but then again, he wasn't complaining. It would be amusing to watch them ask for him when he was right in front of them.

Oh, the comments he could make given the right situations. . .

Suddenly, he wondered whether Temari had any diplomatic missions to Konoha coming up. If she did, he could ask to go with her. The idea made his azure eyes light up.

He glanced up at the sky. The sun was low, night would be coming soon. He would start making his way to Suna in two days. The seal probably would be finished about half-way there, so he wouldn't have to worry about much.

In the meantime, he would work on making sure Kurama's spirit didn't go anywhere. He was planning on keeping Kurama's spirit with him, and, although he would still be sealed in his stomach, it would be possible for Naruto to call him out if he needed him.

He had a seal for that.

He had a seal for almost anything these days. It wasn't like he had any paper or anything, so he just drew the designs in the sand with a stick or something, and thought about testing them out afterwards.

He had a surprisingly good memory when it came to seals, too.

Particularly ones that he had come up with himself.

The light was fading.

Nighttime.

It was getting colder out now too.

He supposed that he should go look for shelter now.

There was a cave somewhere behind him that he had passed just today. . .

Yes, he would go there, he decided. It shouldn't be too far.

Even if it was, it wouldn't matter. He had time. He had plenty of time.

He could afford to walk there.

He reached the cave an hour later and just plopped down on the rock and went to sleep, his thoughts on the seal he created to keep Kurama with him.

And of _her_ and how good it would be to see her again.

After all, it had been too long.

Far too long.


	2. Love

Notice: Comments about someone being OOC will be ignored. I will not actively try to make them be in character just for you people. I'll try to keep them as much in character as I feel like I can, but I'm not going out of my way to do so. If I want Gaara to laugh, or Shikamaru to say no to a shogi match, or Sasuke to smile, then I'm making it happen.

. . .Okay, maybe having Sasuke do anything but smirk is a little bit too weird, even for me, but you get my meaning.

And now, ladies and gentlemen,

I present to you, your dose of fiction.

**Sabaku no Naruto**

Chapter One:

_Love_

_Here we are_, thought Naruto, walking into the Sand village. He walked through the streets, heading towards the Kazekage's office. He had come to give Gaara one last visit before heading back to Konoha.

Hopefully he'd see _her_ at some point, too.

As he headed towards the Kazekage tower, people stared at him and murmured amongst themselves. He knew why they were staring and he didn't care.

They were staring because they recognized him as the Kazekage's friend.

People and their obsessions with those in power.

_Whatever, I'm here_, Naruto thought, going up to the secretary. "Excuse me, but is Gaara busy right now? I wanted to see him."

"He was just giving a briefing to Temari-sama, but he should be done fairly soon. You're welcome to wait, Naruto-sama." She gestured to the seats lining the wall.

"Just Naruto is fine." Rather than taking one of the seats, he leaned up against the wall, ignoring the looks of desire that the secretary was giving him. So, Temari was getting a mission, huh? Maybe he was in luck. He mentally prayed to whatever gods were out there that she was getting a mission to Konoha.

_Please, let me be lucky in this!_ he thought.

The door opened, and the Wind Mistress came out, closing the door behind her. He smiled. She looked beautiful as usual. He raised a hand and stood up, walking towards her. "Hey, Temari-chan."

She whirled around to look at him with wide eyes before her face transformed into a smile as well. "Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?"

"Visiting." Naruto did his best to ignore the frown that was crossing the secretary's face as she glared a bit at Temari. "It's... it's time."

Temari's eyes widened again, immediately understanding the significance of the phrase. The secretary looked confused - which was to be expected, of course. "You mean you're going back?" She looked saddened by the news.

"Um... yeah..." He hated to see that look on her face, and before he could stop himself, he gave her a hug. "It's not like we'll never see each other again, you know," he said with a slightly joking tone, and looked her in the eyes. He felt relief when he saw her smile again. Then he blinked when he saw the light in her eyes brighten even more.

"Hey, since I'm going to Konoha on a diplomatic mission, we can go together, right?"

He smiled at that. "Yeah." Though he said it calmly, he was mentally dancing inside. He thanked whatever gods that were for this chance to be with her for a few more days.

"Well, why did you come here? Shouldn't you have already been heading back?"

"Yeah, but I want to see Gaara one last time before I go." _That, and I wanted to see you_, he added mentally, but he didn't say it. He was afraid to say that.

Afraid of rejection.

He'd been rejected too many times for him to ever feel comfortable with saying something like that before knowing whether or not she felt the same way. If there was even a chance that she didn't, then he didn't want to risk it.

"I see. Well, he's right in there, so you might as well go in," Temari said, pulling Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Thanks. I'll see you at the gate?"

"Yeah. See you there at about 10 o'clock, 'kay?" she replied with a smile. Then she walked off.

Naruto watched her walk away until she disappeared, before turning back to the door to Gaara's office, and walking in. Once again, he ignored the secretary as she pouted a bit.

What was it with women and men in power? And why did they think that he was one of them? Sure he had friends in high places, but that didn't mean that _he_ was in a high place.

"Hey Gaara." Naruto said, coming in.

Gaara's head shot up and he gave him a small smile. "Naruto! It's good to see you." He stood up and came around the desk to stand before him.

"You too." He clasped Gaara's shoulder. "I came back to see you one last time before I go back."

"I see... it's finished?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah. Completely."

"I see. Well, it was good seeing you one last time, old friend."

"We're not friends, Gaara - we're brothers, in all but blood." Naruto shook his head, smiling.

Gaara truly smiled at that. "Yes. That we are. When will you be leaving?"

"I told Temari that I'd meet her at the gates at 10."

"I see." They were silent for a moment.

Then, "When do you plan on telling her, Naruto?"

Naruto looked away, out the window, before looking back at Gaara, and surprising the redhead with the pained look in his eyes. "I... I don't know..." Naruto shook his head. "I'm... scared, Gaara. I've been rejected so many times that I'm afraid of it happening again. And besides, a relationship like that... over such a long distance... I don't know if we could do it," he said, clutching his elbows with his hands.

"You could do it, Naruto. If anyone could make a relationship like that work, it would be you." Gaara then smiled. "And I know for a fact that Temari loves you also."

Naruto's head shot around to stare at Gaara, wide-eyed. "H-how?"

"Because she came to me the other day asking what I thought of you, and if I would approve of a relationship between you two."

Naruto stared at Gaara for a moment, before he grinned. "I'll ask her while we're traveling then. And Gaara... thank you."

"Of course, Naruto. And I'll see you sometime soon."

"Likewise, Gaara."

And with that, they parted ways, as Naruto headed out the door with a smile on his face.

* * *

"What are you so happy about?" asked Temari when she saw him later at the gates.

"Nothing," Naruto said, still smiling.

"Oh really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto just gave her a small grin. "Yes, really. You ready to go?"

"Completely. And you?"

"Of course. Let's go." And with that, Naruto gestured out the gates and fell into step beside her as they walked.

A little while later, and Temari looked at him again to notice he had a small happy grin still on his face. It made her grin as well, but she was still curious. "You going to tell me why you're so happy now?"

Naruto looked away from her. Should he tell her?

Might as well.

"It's because I get to spend time with you," he said quietly.

He glanced back at her to see that she had stopped and was looking at him with wide eyes. He stared back, worried now about any form of rejection that she would show him, and then blinked when she smiled up at him.

"Likewise, Naruto." And she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

Even as surprised as he was, he hugged her back, his arms holding her close.

If he was honest with himself, he didn't want to let her go - he just wanted to hold her like this forever.

But they had to keep moving - they had a destination to get to, and even though he himself had no real deadline to do it by, Temari was on a mission – and so she did have a deadline.

So, he pulled away from her, smiling at her again, before saying, "Let's keep moving." She nodded, and they continued walking side-by-side.

He resisted the urge to hold her hand, then blinked.

She had grasped his hand herself, and was entwining her fingers with his.

He saw her shoot a smile at him, and he smiled back, and they made their way to their destination.

Konohagakure no Sato.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves.


	3. Reminiscing

Over 2000 words – this will hopefully become the normal length for my chapters from now on. It's 6 pages, but that doesn't matter, really.

Whatever. Moving on.

Once again, I present to you:

**Sabaku no Naruto**

Chapter 2:

_Reminiscing_

The village gates were coming into view. Soon, he would be able to see all of his old friends. He wondered again what they would think when they saw him.

Assuming, of course, that they recognized him.

Beside him, Temari was walking with an even pace, and she smiled when she saw that he was excited.

"It's good to be back," he said, seeing her smile.

She nodded, still smiling, and they made their way to the guards at the side of the village entrance.

"Temari-san! It's nice to see you! And who's this that you've brought with you?" asked Kotetsu, standing up when he saw them.

"And that, Temari, is why I was wondering if my friends would recognize me," Naruto said to her. He turned back to the two guards. "It's Uzumaki Naruto. I've come home."

The guard's eyes widened, and then they smiled. "You should go see the Hokage, Naruto-san. She's been missing you quite a bit."

"Obaa-chan, huh?" He ignored the sputtering of the two ninjas. "Yeah, it has been a while. It'll be fun to see whether or not she recognizes me."

"Well, in that case, let's get going." Temari flashed her pass at the guards, then started walking through the streets.

Naruto hurried after her, and fell into step beside her. They walked down the streets, and Naruto noticed that a lot of people, particularly women, seemed to be staring at them. He paused to wonder why.

It's not like they knew who he was, so why were they staring?

Whatever. He didn't feel like dealing with this right now.

He stared ahead, and caught sight of someone that made him smile.

"Sakura-chan!"

The pinkette's head came up, and she turned to look up at the person walking up to her with Temari by his side. "Hey Temari," she said, then turned to the other person. "Do I... know you?"

"Geez, I get rid of the whisker marks, and all of a sudden you don't recognize me, huh? I'm hurt, Sakura-chan," the man said, feigning a look of pain.

Whisker marks...?

Sakura's eyes widened as she understood the implications of this statement, before she grinned widely, and said, "Naruto! You're back!"

"Yep."

Sakura smiled. Then she looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow at the deep tan and the bleached hair, thinking to herself, _He's looks really exotic now, and kind of... hot..._

"Sakura-chan, are you checking me out?" Naruto asked in amusement.

The reaction was immediate, the blush spreading from her neck to the roots of her hair, before she yelled, "IDIOT!" and raised her fist to hit his head.

Only to come up short when her fist was caught before it could even come near his head. She looked to see that Naruto was looking at her with a frown.

"I won't let you hit me, Sakura." Her eyes widened at the lack of suffix. He continued, "I'm not here to try to impress you now - I got over you a long time ago." His eyes narrowed. "I'm not your punching bag anymore."

Sakura could do nothing but nod, eyes wide. He let go of her fist, and her hand dropped to her side.

He smiled again, but it wasn't quite as warm as it was before. "Well, Temari-chan and I are heading to the Hokage tower. See you later, Sakura."

"Y-yeah..." She watched them leave, and clutched her hand to her chest. She didn't know why, but her chest hurt. When he refrained from using the "chan" suffix at the end of her name... why did it hurt so much when he did that?

Why was she so upset about the fact that he'd moved on from her?

She wasn't in love with him, had never been in love with him. So, why?

Why...was it so painful...?

* * *

"Temari! Who's this you've brought with you?" Tsunade asked, smiling at them.

"Geez, I leave for five years, and come back, and you don't know who I am anymore? Ouch, Obaa-chan."

Tsunade's eyes widened. There was only one person who dared to call her "Obaa-chan", and that was...

"Naruto?"

He grinned. "The one and only."

Tsunade's eyes lit up, and she ran over to him, enveloping him in a hug. She then pulled back from him and looked him up and down. Deep tan, bleached hair, no whiskers...

"Geez, brat, do you look different. What did you do in the last five years?"

"I trained."

"...That's it?" she asked flatly.

"That's it," he said with amusement.

"...That's boring."

"That's what I told him," Temari said, entering the conversation. "But he just told me that when you're wandering the desert with no real destination in mind, training is one of the less boring things you can do."

"Hey, it's true," Naruto said, shrugging. "And does it really matter what I did?"

"It does if I'm going to promote you," Tsunade said, grinning.

Naruto's eyes shot up and he looked at her with wide eyes. Then he smirked back at her, saying, "Rather than me telling you of my skills, why don't we just test them? Seems like a better idea anyway."

"I can agree with that. I'll set you up a testing time for your promotion. Depending on your performance, we'll see what rank you'll become. Until then, you're dismissed. Go see some of your friends - Sakura has been missing you."

"I saw Sakura on the way here." Naruto didn't notice the look of surprise that crossed Tsunade's face at the lack of a suffix. "I'll see you later, Obaa-chan. You too, Temari-chan." He smiled at the girl, waved to both of them, and then left out the door.

Temari stared after him for a minute, before turning back to Tsunade only to see the woman looking at her as if sizing her up. "What?" she demanded, feeling confused.

"...Nothing. How long has he been calling you "chan"?" Tsunade asked nonchalantly.

"For a couple of years. Why do you ask?"

"...Do you love him?"

"W-what's this all of a sudden?" Temari stammered.

Tsunade stared at her, before saying, "I'm asking because I can tell that he likes you, but if you don't have the same feelings, he'll be crushed. And I don't want to see that happen."

Temari blushed, and looked out the window, before saying quietly, "I... I do love him, but... I don't know if it's possible to have a believable relationship over such a long distance..." She looked at Tsunade with pain in her eyes. "I want to kiss him so freakin' bad... but I can't. I just can't bring myself to, and I feel like my heart is ripping to pieces." She paused. "...I'm afraid, Hokage-sama. Afraid of what will happen if the relationship doesn't work. Afraid of what will happen if he doesn't love me as much as I love him. And I don't know how to deal with it." She hung her head, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll never know if you don't try, Temari-chan. And I don't think you have to worry about him not loving you back. If anything, he probably loves you more than you love him." She smiled. "When he gives his heart to someone, he gives it fully." Her eyes then clouded over. "That's why it's so bad when someone rejects him. It's hard for him to pick up the pieces."

Temari looked at Tsunade, before smiling a bit. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. I'll keep that in mind."

"You'd better," Tsunade said with amusement. "I'll whoop your butt if you don't."

That made Temari laugh.

* * *

It wasn't as hot here as it was back in Wind country.

Not nearly as hot.

Not to say that it wasn't warm, it just wasn't as hot as he was used to anymore.

People were staring at him again. Particularly the female population.

What was up with that?

He highly doubted that they knew who he was, so why were they staring at him? And what was up with the look most of the females were giving him? It wasn't disgust, but something else that was somehow far more disturbing.

They looked like a predator staring down their prey.

He decided that he wanted to get away from that, so he head out of the market district and towards the training grounds. Hopefully he wouldn't have to worry about people staring if he went there.

Though, he kind of wanted to talk to someone...

_Hey, Kurama. You awake?_

_Well, if I wasn't before, I certainly am now, kit,_ came the sarcastic voice.

Naruto grinned. _You wanna take a walk with me?_

He felt the fox's attention suddenly snap to focus on him. _Are you crazy? Of course I want out of this stinkhole! Let me out, let me out!_

_Surely it can't be that bad, Kurama._

The fox snorted. _That's what you say because you don't have to live here. Dammit, kit, let me stretch my legs! _Please!

_Alright, alright, come on out!_ Naruto did a couple of handseals, and put his hand to the ground. A seal appeared, then one poof later and a black fox with red eyes was standing there stretching its legs and looking around.

"Where are we, kit?"

"Training area 6. I was just heading over to training ground 7. You wanna come?"

"I'm gonna go hunt instead. I know it's pointless to do since I can't eat but really, anything to stay out here for a little while longer."

"Is my mind really that bad?"

"Yes!" came the adamant response.

_I wonder if there's anything that I could do to fix that..._ Naruto thought as he made his way alone to the next training ground over.

Training ground 7. Man, did that bring back memories.

He was such an idiot back then.

Not that Sasuke and Sakura didn't have their moments, but he was the most consistent one when it came to idiocy. Though he was known to have strokes of genius sometimes, frequently he was just a dumbass.

That changed when the war came around, though.

Go figure. War could do that to someone.

He noticed that there was someone at the training ground already, standing in front of the memorial stone staring at it.

Gray, gravity-defying hair, jounin vest, mask, headband titled over one eye...

Of course his cycloptic teacher would be here.

Of course.

He came to stand beside the man, and looked at the memorial stone as well.

"You know, sensei, you really shouldn't spend so much time here. You should train or something..." Naruto said.

"Huh? Do I... know you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service." Naruto said sarcastically.

The cyclops froze, and looked at him again. "Naruto? What happened to you? You look... really different."

"This is what happens when you wander the desert for five years - your hair gets bleached, and your skin turns brown, all because of that relentless sun beating down on you, day in, day out." Naruto turned back to look at the memorial stone.

He noticed one of the names - Uchiha Obito. That was most likely the name that his sensei had been staring at.

After all, Obito was his teammate, who gave him his eye before the boy was killed.

And then Kakashi lost in in the war.

The eye was ripped out of its socket by non-other than Uchiha Madara himself.

Kakashi was probably still beating himself up about that. He probably couldn't get over the fact that he had lost the one connection that he had left with his teammate.

But it was time to move on. He shouldn't wallow in his despair like this...

"You shouldn't just stare at this stone day in and day out, sensei. You should train, you should get stronger - that way you won't have to stare at more names than the ones that are already on here. And wouldn't your past teammates wish for you to use their deaths as an incentive to become stronger rather than an excuse to do nothing?" Naruto looked over at his teacher and smiled. "There's only so many times you can apologize before the apologies become meaningless and your actions start speaking for you."

"...When did you become so wise?" Kakashi said, his eye a little wide at the revelations.

"When you wander the desert alone for five years with no one but yourself, you tend to start thinking about the past and what you could have done to prevent it. However, if you do that, you leave yourself open to an attack far more deadly than any physical damage another person could ever hope to give you." Naruto stared into the distance, his eyes clouded. "Depression was the greatest foe out there for me, and the only way to get away from the 'what if' questions about the past was to start thinking about the 'from now on' statements about the future. You have to move on before you can become stronger. And I wanted to become strong - stronger than anyone. Stronger than anything. To protect the people who are most important to me." Naruto looked back at Kakashi, his resolve shining clearly in his eyes. "Because I never wanted to see any of them die. Ever."

He had been lucky in that war. All of his important people had made it out alive and still able to continue their ninja careers.

But there had been some close calls.

So many close calls.

He never wanted to feel that kind of fear again.

Ever.

Which is why he became strong. So that he never had to feel anything like that ever again.

So that he never had to worry about losing his precious people because he was too weak to save them.

He hadn't been good enough back then. He couldn't save them from everything. There had been a great deal of scars left over that he couldn't prevent.

But he had trained to be good enough now.

And he wasn't stopping here.

Stronger, stronger, stronger than anyone. Than anything.

And when he reached his limit, he would break it and keep going.

He would never stop getting stronger.

To protect his precious people.


	4. Testing

Fourth chapter already. . . wow. . . Not that it's really surprising or anything to have four chapters, no, what has me surprised is that I wrote 3 of them within a single day, and posted them on the same day.

That's just. . . wow. . .

But then again, it's really fun to write this story – like, _really _fun. Seriously. I could write for this story all day long.

Which is what I did.

Enough ranting.

Without any further annoyances from me,

I present to you:

**Sabaku no Naruto**

Chapter 3:

_Testing_

The small tornado whirled in a desolate landscape.

It obscured. . . something.

Something powerful and ancient.

Something both alien and familiar.

Something. . . evil.

The something began to take form. It wrapped itself into a human shape, a woman, yet unlike any woman in existence. This woman was dressed in a black, long sleeved dress that went past her ankles. She had all manner of different jewelry on her arms, hands, and neck, and a pair of earrings that were long enough to brush her shoulders. Her feet were bare of shoes – instead, bandages were wrapped around the soles of them. Her hair was brown, wild and tangled, and her eyes were black, blacker than night, and devoid of all feeling, like a bottomless abyss that you are afraid to look at, for fear of it drawing you in.

But these things aren't what made this woman different.

No, what made this woman different was the aura of power that surrounded her.

And the feeling of ill intentions that followed her.

"_Free. . ." _A voice, like a rasping whisper of wind, came from the lips of the woman. "_Free from my restraints. Free to do as I please, to save this miserable world. . ."_

The woman closed her eyes, and tilted her head as if listening.

Then her eyes snapped open, the color flaring green for just a moment.

"_Close. . . One of the biju. . . Which is it. . . which is it. . . Two. . . no, more than that. . . Three. . . Isobu is near. . ." _

The woman's lips formed into a sickening smile.

"_Now, to steal its chakra. . . and make it my own. . ."_

* * *

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto sat up from where he was lying on the grass in training ground 7 to see Temari making her way towards him. He smiled at her.

"Heya, Temari-chan. What'cha need?" Naruto felt his heart flutter a bit when she smiled back at him.

"_I _don't need anything – _you _on the other hand, are about to be late for your test."

"Oh yeah. . . where was it again?" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Naruto," Temari said in exasperation. She shook her head. "It's over in training ground 33. C'mon, hurry up; you have to be there in 20 minutes."

"20 minutes, huh? Might be close, but. . ." Naruto jumped to his feet, then, before Temari could say anything, and his brain could insinuate something, he picked her up bridal-style, and took to the trees.

"W-what?! Naruto-k-kun. . . What are you doing?" Temari asked.

"Carrying you – what's it seem like?" He grinned, feeling amused and nervous at the same time.

"Okay, let me rephrase it then – why are you carrying me bridal-style to, I'm assuming, training ground 33?" Temari had by this time wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself, and was now looking at the side of his face expectantly.

"Because I enjoy your company, so I want you to be present for my test," he replied nonchalantly.

"You do realize that you could have just asked me to come with you instead of picking me up, right?" Temari deadpanned.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Naruto grinned at her. Then, to Temari's surprise, he suddenly looked away from her, and she saw a blush come across his cheeks. "You wanna get some food after this?" he asked. Despite how casually he made it sound, the blush gave him away.

Then she thought about what he said, and felt a blush of her own creep up. "Y-yeah. . ." she stammered, then she smiled at him, somehow gaining confidence. "I'd like that. Where were you planning on taking me?"

Naruto's grin threatened to split his face when he heard that. "Anywhere you like, Temari-chan."

"I get to choose?"

"Of course."

"Hmm. . . The issue is that I don't know that many restaurants here. . ."

"Then we can wander around looking for one that catches your fancy. . ." Naruto somehow managed to shrug his shoulders, even with her in his arms, then shot her a grin. "We can do whatever you want, Temari-chan – your choice."

"I think we'll go looking for a good one later, then. You're treating?"

"Of course. What kind of man do you take me for?" Naruto seemed vaguely insulted at the insinuation that he would make Temari pay for the meal.

"The great kind," came the unexpected reply.

That pulled Naruto up short, before he smirked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "If I'm a great guy, then you're a goddess who deserves someone better than me to go out to eat with."

And there it was, the creeping blush starting at the neck and ending at the hairline.

Kami, even when beet red from embarrassment, she still managed to look cute.

"We're here," he said, as he set her feet on the ground.

He didn't realize that he had kept his arm around her waist until he heard a cough beside him, and turned to look at her, only to see her blushing, and looking pointedly at his arm.

He blushed and dropped it, his other hand coming up to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

_He looks really cute when he does that, _Temari thought to herself, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto growled out, his hand dropping to his side.

"Why, I'm here to test you, of course." The cyclops eye-smiled at him.

Naruto did his best to rein in his temper at the incredibly unfortunate timing of his sensei.

Why did he have to come _now_, of all times?

And, now that he thought about it, why did he choose to be punctual to _this_ meeting, even though he never was at any other?

Was the world ending soon or something?

Finally he just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off a headache that he felt coming on.

"Why are you on time, Kakashi-sensei? Since when were you ever on time to _anything_ before?" Naruto leveled a glare at the man, raising an eyebrow when he saw a look of fear flash across the man's eye for a split second.

"Oh, well, Tsunade-sama can be very convincing…" he said, waving a hand dismissively.

"…She threatened your Icha Icha, didn't she?" Naruto deadpanned.

Kakashi just rubbed the back of his head, laughing awkwardly.

Naruto sensed a chakra signature coming, and turned to see Tsunade walking towards them, before she stopped a few feet away, planting her feet with her hands on her hips. She leveled a stare at them both. "Uzumaki Naruto! Hatake Kakashi!"

"Yes!"

"Yeah?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the boy's disrespect.

He just rubbed his neck, shrugging unrepentantly. He hid a grin when he heard her sigh in exasperation.

It was always fun to agitate the woman. No matter how many times he did it, it never ceased to amuse him.

Tsunade just sighed. "Hatake Kakashi – you are here to test one Uzumaki Naruto for a possible promotion. The test will be a battle between the two of you. Naruto." He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "The conditions for winning this match are this: You must defeat Kakashi and retrieve a bell that he will have hanging from his side. You have until sunset to do this – after that, and you lose. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. The match will begin on the count of three. . . 1. . . 2. . . 3! GO!" Tsunade jumped out of the way and into the trees where Temari had also taken up residence.

Temari looked at the two ninja who had jumped apart and were now standing across from each other. _Show them what you can do, Naruto! _she silently cheered in her head.

The two ninja blurred out of sight and the clang of metal on metal was heard throughout the training ground. . .

* * *

When Naruto was younger, his fighting style could be summed up in a single word: "unpredictable". When Naruto fought, he didn't fight using any form. He didn't adhere to rhyme, or reason, and just came at you with everything he had, using everything around him to his advantage – he would fight using trees as the ground, the ground as a launching pad, and your shoulders as a vantage point. He used every trick in the book and some of his own when he fought. His style was rough, unruly, but it got the job done.

Of course, that was when he was younger.

Now, after training for so many years out in the deserts, his fighting style was far more graceful. It was still unpredictable, combining attacks from various fighting styles, incorporating so many styles into it that there was no way for you to know what the next attack would be.

But despite the similarities, the differences were still huge.

His style had become instinctive for him, ingrained into his body, and he remembered that Temari had once described it as "beautiful" – which, coming from a goddess like her, was really saying something.

He no longer thought about what he would do when he fought. He just _did_, acting and reacting instinctively.

Which is why his mind was blank as he fought his old sensei on the training grounds they were located at.

"When. . ." he heard Kakashi huff. "When did you become so good, Naruto?"

"Five years of training non-stop will do wonders for a person's fighting abilities, sensei," Naruto said, not even winded yet.

As the hours passed by, the sun getting progressively lower in the sky, a game of cat and mouse had started to play out between the two combatants. Kakashi fleeing from him, hoping to get enough of a break to regain some of his endurance, and Naruto tracking him relentlessly through the forest.

Three hours before sunset, and Naruto had finally cornered Kakashi. Creating about twenty clones, he surrounded him, and then. . . he attacked.

It was over before Kakashi had even realized it.

While the clones were distracting him, Naruto had henge'd into a small animal, and nipped the bells from his former teacher's waist, before transforming back and waiting off to the side for Kakashi to finish off the rest of his clones.

_Poof_.

The last clone dispelled after a chop to the nape of the neck.

Kakashi looked up to see Naruto simply standing in front of him, smirking.

"Why are you smiling? You haven't won yet," Kakashi said, narrowing his eyes.

Naruto shook his head, then wordlessly pointed to the jounin's waist, before holding the single bell up. He raised an eyebrow at the man, smirking. "You were saying, sensei?"

Before Kakashi could do more than widen his eyes in shock, Tsunade and Temari appeared beside them. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" She turned to the him with a smile. "Well done, Naruto. Come by my office tomorrow and I'll give you your jounin vest, okay?"

"Sure thing," Naruto said, but he wasn't even really paying attention to the woman. His focus was on Temari, who was grinning widely up at him.

"You did it."

"Of course I did – did you ever doubt that I could?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and grinned at her.

"Never." Then she grabbed his hand and started pulling him after her. "C'mon – you still have to treat me to dinner. And just so you know, I have expensive tastes."

Naruto was pulled along after her, but he didn't seem to mind that much. In fact, he was smiling at her as he hurried to walk beside her, still holding her hand.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

_Kami, she's beautiful. I__ want to kiss her right now._

_. . .Badly._

* * *

And that's a wrap. See you later folks, and sorry about the bad fight scene. I not good at writing those. . . like, _at all_.

Sorry about that.

Definitions:

Kami – "God"


End file.
